Ice tray



Jan. 10, 1939.

, H. D. GEYER ICE TRAY Filed May 10, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 10, 1939.

H. D. GEYER ICE TRAY ZSheeLs-Sheef- 2 Filed May 10, 1937 meme its. 10, i939 'iJNlED STATES ICE TRAY Harvey D. Geyer, Dayton, Ohio. assignor to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application May 10, 1937, Serial No. 141,607

3 Claims.

This invention relates to freezing trays such as are suitable for use in domestic mechanical refrigerators.

An object of this invention is to provide an ice tray having simple and efficient means for loosening or entirely ejecting the frozen ice blocks from their frozen bond to the metal retaining walls without first thawing the ice free.

Another object is to provide an ice tray having metal partitioning walls which may be cocked into a distorted position and so held until the ice is completely frozen, the cocking means being thereafter releasable to cause said partitioning walls to automatically return to their normal position by a spring action and thereby automatically loosen or release the frozen ice blocks from the tray.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an ice tray made according to this invention, the parts being shown cocked in their freezing position.

Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section taken on line tt of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a partial plan view of the tray with the actuating handle omitted, the parts being shown in their uncocked or ice-releasing position.

Fig.7 is a vertical section on line 'I'l of Fig. 6 but in addition shows the actuating handle in I position to be used as a lever to force the parts -10 into the cocked position of Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Reference numeral I0 designates the resilient metal cups which preferably are individually drawn from stainless steel or other non-corrosive or plated metal having substantial springy characteristics. The normal or non-distorted shapes of cups I0 is'somewhat skewed in plan view as clearly-shown in Fig. 6. These cups I0 are assembled in slightly spaced relation to the surrounding U-shaped metal frame II in two parallel rows. Cups III each has its outer upper margin fixed to the rigid frame I I by a small angular flange I2 which fits over and around the angle actuating bar It.

section of frame II and is fixed thereto as by welding (see Figs. 5 and 6).

A fiat section actuating bar I5 extends longitudinally between the two rows of cups I0, and the adjacent small flange I3 of eachcup I0 is attached to bar I5 by suitable means such as by small pins or rivets I6. The rear end of frame I I has a depending portion II having a slot I8 therein, and bar I5 has a rearwardly projecting tongue I9 which rides within slot I8 and thereby serves as a rear support for bar I5 (see Fig. 2). The front end of bar I5 has a cam-follower fitting 20 fixed thereto which serves as a support for the front end of bar I5 as will be later described.

A frame-cover or housing 30 of sheet metal, preferably stainless steel, fits snugly over the rigid frame I I and substantially conceals same. Housing 30 has a marginal flange 3I which may be crimped around the depending flange on frame I I as shown at the left side of Fig. 2 in order to fix these parts together. If desired, housing 30 may be otherwise rigidly fixed to frame I I, as by welding. Housing 30 has a front downwardly-curved projection 32 having depending side flanges 33 thereon which form bearings 34 for a transversely extending rotatable shaft member to.

This rotatable member comprises two lever arms iI fixed to the two ends of the square shaft by means of pins 62, and a central cam member t3. This rotatable cam member 63 cooperates with the cam-follower fitting 2D in the following manner. Fitting 20 has two projections 2| which ride within grooves M on member 43 (see Fig. 4) and thus positively supports the front end of the It will be noted that bar I5 is pivoted to the inner edges of all the flexible metal cups II] by pins It, but that this attachment is not a sufliciently positive support for bar I5 due to the flexibility or distortability of the metal cups Ill. The central cam lobe 45 of member 43 rides against the cam-follower surface 22 of member 2 I, when the parts are moved to the position shown in Fig. 3, and thus the actuating bar I5 is forced to the left (as seen in Figs. 1, 2, and 3) against the spring pressure which all the resilient cups III exert when they are thus distorted to the shape shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 3 the point of pressure contact between cam lobe 45 and cam-follower surface 22 is' slightly past dead center; this means that after the parts have been forced to this position the combined spring resistance of the cups ID will retain cam 45 in the position shown in .arms 4| (as seen in Fig, '7).

Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The lower projection 23 on fitting 20 serves as a stop for the clockwise rotation of cam 45 as seen in Fig. 3, as will appear from the following description of the operating handle.

The operating handle 50 is pivoted to the outer ends of the two lever arms 4| in any suitable manner. In the form shown, handle 50 has an integral transverse base portion 5| which is pivoted upon the two opposed journal pins 46 on lever arms 4! (see Fig. 4). The pivotal movement between handle portion 5! and pins 46 is limited by means of suitable stops 41, so that when handle 50 has been rotated upon pins 46 to the position shown in Fig. 7 the stops prevent any further clockwise pivoting of handle 50 upon Hence it will be seen that when the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the handle 50 may be pulled clockwise (as seen in Fig. 7) by hand and in effect forms an elongation of lever arms4| by means of which the transverse shaft member 40 and cam 45 may be more easily rotated to force the actuating bar 15 to the left against the combined spring resistance of all the resilient cups N]. Then after cam 45 has been thereby moved to the position shown in Fig. 3 (where the metal cups ID are cooked into their distorted shape shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3), the handle 50 may be freely rotated counter-clockwise on pivots 46 to its normal freezing position shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. During this free counter-clockwise rotation of handle 50 the handle portion 5! remains in contact with the stop 23 and continues to serve as a stop for the cocking movement of cam 45.

In operation, the metal cups ID are first cocked into their distorted position as above described and filled with water to the desired level. The tray is then set within a freezing compartment with the handle 50 raised to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and the water frozen solid. When it is desired to remove the frozen ice blocks, the tray is first loosened from its bond to its supporting cold surface by hearing down on handle 50. Portions 52 of handle 50 act as cams and break the tray loose from its supporting cold surface. This movement of handle 50 does not change the position of lever arms 4!. Handle 50 is then pulled forward (away from the tray) thus swinging lever arms 4| outwardly until cam lobe 45 is moved slightly beyond its dead center on cam-follower surface 22. This movement unlocks the cocked position of the actuating bar l5 and hence permits all the compressed or distorted flexible metal cups [0 to return to their normal shape shown in Figs, 6 and '7. The only thing which then resists this return to normal shape of the cups I0 is the ice blocks themselves which are frozen in place in said cups. These cups II! are made with sufficient spring tension when so distorted to automatically return to normal shape when so released or un-cocked and thereby either partially or entirely eject the frozen ice blocks therefrom. It will be noted that the ice blocks are rectangular in plan view when frozen (see Fig. 1) but that cups l0 return to their skewed shape shown in Fig. 6 upon release of the cocking mechanism. This relatively small automatic change in shape of cups ID has a particularly efiicient action in loosening and partially ejecting the frozen ice blocks from cups II]. It is believed this efficient action is due primarily to the fact that each cup l0 upon its release immediately tightly squeezes its contained ice block, which squeezing action together with the taper of the side walls of each cup l0 causes the ice block to loosen and move upwardly out of the cup ID. This action is entirely automatic whether the ice blocks immediately pop up as soon as the cocking mechanism is released or whether a short elapse of time is required for them to do so. For instance when the ice tray is very cold when first removed from its freezing compartment, it may be necessary to uncock the mechanism, then set the tray on a table for a few moments until the automatic release of the cubes as above described takes place. Obviously the principles of this invention may be used with other forms of partitioning members to divide the ice contents into small ice blocks suitable for table use.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A freezing tray having a series of resilient ice compartments having a contracted normal shape but resiliently distortable to a distorted expanded shape, means for retaining said compartments in their distorted expanded shape during freezing of the ice contents, and means for releasing said retaining means after freezing is completed and permitting said compartments to return by a spring action to their contracted normal shape and thereby contract upon and loosen the frozen contents therefrom.

2. A freezing tray having a series of resilient metal ice pockets having a skewed normal shape but resiliently distortable to a non-skewed shape, means for retaining said metal pockets in said non-skewed shape during freezing of the contents, and means for releasing said retaining means after freezing is completed and permitting said metal pockets to return to their normal skewed shape by a spring action and thereby press upon and at least partially eject the frozen contents therefrom,

, 3. A freezing tray having an ice compartment,

.said compartment having resilient metal side walls normally non-rectangular in plan but which is distortable by force into substantially rectangular form, means for forcing said ice compartment into substantially rectangular form and retaining such rectangular form during freezing of the ice contents, and means for releasing said retaining means after freezing is completed and permitting said side walls to return to their normal position by a spring action and thereby loose the frozen contents from said compartment.

HARVEY D. GEYER. 

